Friday Fictioneers – Illumination

Eyes watering with strain Brother Eadfrith bent over the parchment, retracing in ink the silverpoint outlines. His back ached. Late afternoon light slanting low through the casement cast a shadow, and he shifted the sheet of vellum on the oak desk.

With delicate brush, he applied the ochre border and then crimson for the saint’s robes and animal’s coats. Finally, he laid gold leaf onto the capitals. The sun touched the page, and beauty clasped the text. Lines of fire connected hidden meaning that sparked from image to sentence, from intricately scribed knot to ornate capital – earth, ladder, heaven.

Wooooooooow! Vivid descriptions, Neil. Very inspired, I can tell. I have always been a fan of those types of art that use the first letter in the text and have pictures in them. That’s what i imagined, anyway.

Reading that wonderful description made me feel so calm and at peace. I just so love illuminations — the colours, the detail, the thought of how much concentrated work and patience went into producing it. In fact, the whole idea of monastic living fascinates me. I have a particular love of plainchant — listening to it, and singing it.